Academic Clinician-Educator Scholars (ACES) Fellowship

Program Overview

The Academic Clinician-Educator Scholars (ACES) Fellowship is a two-year program designed to train future leaders in academic medicine and medical education. Fellows develop advanced skills in clinical and classroom teaching, curriculum design, educational leadership, and scholarly inquiry. Central to the program is the Master of Science (MS) in Medical Education, offered through the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE). Fellows apply the knowledge gained from their graduate coursework directly to their teaching and scholarly activities, completing a mentored education or research project, engaging in core courses in research methodology, and participating in the clinical and teaching missions of the Division of General Internal Medicine. By the end of the fellowship, participants are fully prepared to pursue successful careers as academic clinician-educators.

Mentorship and Scholarly Development

Mentorship is a cornerstone of the ACES Fellowship and a key predictor of academic success. Each fellow establishes a team of mentors who provide individualized guidance across all facets of training: a primary career mentor who oversees the overall fellowship experience, one or more research mentors who guide scholarly or curricular projects, and clinical mentors who support teaching and patient care development. Fellows meet early in the first year with program leadership to formalize their mentorship team and craft a personalized academic portfolio. Mentors help define career goals, build research and teaching portfolios, and develop timelines for project completion. Fellows also participate in ICRE’s “Mentoring Matters” workshop, which emphasizes strategies for effective mentor-mentee relationships and long-term academic growth.

Clinical Experience

Clinical care is an integral component of the fellowship, ensuring that fellows maintain and enhance their skills as practicing physicians. While the balance of inpatient and outpatient responsibilities varies according to each fellow’s interests, all fellows spend one half-day per week in continuity outpatient clinic and two half-days per week precepting interns and residents in outpatient settings. Fellows also serve as attending-of-record for inpatient teams of residents, interns, and medical students, attending on the general medicine service approximately two months per year in blocks at the VA Medical Center, UPMC Presbyterian/Montefiore, or UPMC Shadyside, depending on primary clinical assignments.

Through this combination of graduate-level coursework, mentored scholarly projects, and longitudinal clinical practice, ACES fellows graduate with the expertise, experience, and mentorship foundation needed to excel as leaders in medical education and academic medicine.